No interest in caged coon

[redbonecurhunting]

My coonhound, cur mix puppy was shown his first caged coon today, and i was amazed at how little interest he was showing. He maybe barked five times and then would run away and bark at me..... not the coon . He will however chase and tree a coon tail like crazy. he will go for an hour and not get tired of chasing a tail. Just wondered how to get him interested in the caged coon, he is almost afraid of the live coon he goes up to it and sniffs it then jumps back like he is unsure. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[merlo_105]

How old is your puppy? And also a cage coon teaches a dog absolutely nothing, When was the last time you went in the woods and seen a caged coon running around? He barked 5 times thats good enough. Let us know his age and then Im sure people will chime in and help you and your pup out

[redbonecurhunting]

he is three months today. thank you

[TomJr]

Too young to force it! You can really mess up a dog exposing him too early to something that can hurt him. At 3 months he likely does not even have his permanent teeth yet...

Keep teaching him the basics, come, stay, drop it, etc. Its ok to take them into the woods as soon as they are fully immunized, usually around 4 months. Check with your vet for rabies etc. Trips to the woods when very young are just walks to get them used to the smells and teach them to listen when called etc.

When your dog is ready it should start trailing on its own, you can then try a few drags but don't over do it. ITs good that he is showing interest on drags Once he matures a bit, at least 6 months, get him on real game.

Instead of caged coon you could let it go and let him trail and tree it... but he should be at least 6 months old and showing interest in drags etc. before you do.

[redbonecurhunting]

okay, thanks. so walks through the woods every day. What about a few hot dog drags? Also he seems to stay REALLY close to me when in the woods. I have had him since he was 4 weeks old. Should i try anything to fix this? he seems a little too attached? thanks

[mr.c]

Most pups will let you no when they are ready start with coon hide that will let him no what he is after.When you push the cage coon thing all your doing is scaring them let him develop his own grit. Some day you will shot one out he will try to grab it then you will no

[redbonecurhunting]

so when he starts following his nose a bit more? Also is there anything i can do to make him wander a little more, he sticks REALLY close to me

[dhostetler]

3 months old is way to young to really expect anything in my opinion. With age he will get more confident to range out from you. At that age you are his protector, if you get out of his site he could get scared and traumatized throwing him back months in development.

[merlo_105]

Take him for his Walk's and just let him do his own thing let him venture out, if he won't and he sticks close then just sit down relax and ignore the pup. He'll eventually get bored and start wondering off. He might just venture out on his own when he gets older. The pup is only 3 month's old let it be a pup and don't worry about it. Just take it out and play and get it familiar to the woods

[redbonecurhunting]

Thanks i really appreciate all the comments. Im a dumb kid trying to figure it all out. I was halfway worried that he was a ruined coon hound! This is very reassuring.

[TomJr]

He's too young to be ruined yet I know people will tell you Thiers start early etc. etc. but 3 months is beyond early... Most dogs get their permanent teeth around 4 months also you don't want him exposed to any potentially disease carrying animals until fully vaccinated usually around 4 months depending on shot schedule. I do let my pups run with the older dogs around 4 months old and while they make the tree they don't do much. I am happy if at that age they are looking up at the critter and maybe barking a bit. If you are going it alone it may be a while before he trees his first animal so don't give up.

You said he was showing interest in the coon tail... use that to lay some short trails out of his sight and then let him find it on his own. Just go to the area and sit down and watch him. If he can find a drag like that at his age he is on track, maybe even ahead of the curve. Don't make the trails more than 10-15 yards at first. Hot dog drags are definitely ok at his age and will be fun for him... likely don't do a whole lot for hunting but sure not going to hurt.

[redbonecurhunting]

ok, thanks. However although he does like the coon tail i dont see him use his nose a whole lot. so would the hotdog get him to like using his nose?

[mjk]

Sent you a pm.

[dhostetler]

I have older dogs so my training usually consists only of getting pups to obey me and that is it. When they are about 3 months I start taking them along hunting when I get out of the truck they are the first out and go where I go. If I turn on a track they have the opportunity to go or not to go. Usually they are close to 4 months old when my pups will start tagging along on the race either part ways or all the way. Before they go on tracks the pups follow me in the woods wherever I go including to trees. Attached is a picture of 3 month old pup checking out a lion kill. Most of the time my pups are older than 6 months before I can tell that they are actually trailing game versus trailing the dogs.

[redbonecurhunting]

thhis was very helpful, thanks. I was worried when my dog did not show interest at 3 months on a caged coon